


Tales of Deities

by MochaTears



Series: SBI Gods AU [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Gen, God Tommyinnit, SBI Gods AU, Uncle Tommyinnit, Villain Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Whyyyy is Bad’s tag his real name? Whyyyyyy, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, You can pry uncle Tommy from my cold dead hands lmao, just realised I should probably tag that hah, the only thing i write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29647080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MochaTears/pseuds/MochaTears
Summary: A collection of shorter works in the SBI Gods AU.-Chapter One: Fundy and Tommy talk about Fundy’s adoption.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Darryl Noveschosch & Phil Watson, Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Floris | Fundy & Technoblade, Floris | Fundy & TommyInnit, Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Zak Ahmed & Darryl Noveschosch
Series: SBI Gods AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141916
Comments: 39
Kudos: 249
Collections: Dream SMP Fics (Mainly Tommyinnit (Yeah I'm That Bitch))





	1. Chapter 1

"I hear you're trying to get adopted."

Fundy's eyes widen, and he glances over at Tommy. The older man is reclining against the grassy hillock behind them, staring up at the clouds above. It was Tommy who invited him here today. Away from the SMP. They’ve come here before, to spend time away from the people they’re hiding things from. It isn’t just the two of them who come here. Tubbo and Dad had also frequented this place with them. But today it’s just him and Tommy. To talk, apparently.

Tommy doesn't _seem_ upset, so Fundy hopes this isn't going to become an argument.

"Yeah. Well, I mean, Eret offered, and I just ..." He doesn't really know how to finish the sentence. Tommy turns to study his face for a moment.

"It's something you want?" He's maybe a little hurt, Fundy thinks. He knew this decision was going to make his uncle feel like he wasn't enough. He seems to be trying to understand, though. Fundy nods. Tommy pushes himself into a sitting position. He looks conflicted.

”He’s trying to fix things,” Fundy says, and Tommy gives him a questioning look. “He knows he hurt us, but he wants to earn our forgiveness.”

His uncle nods, looking away. "Legally, I don't think Dadza can sign those papers."

"What?"

Tommy sighs. "I'm pretty sure _I'm_ your current legal guardian. Unless Wil changed that before we moved here."

"Oh," says Fundy, looking down. "That'll ... that'll look weird, huh?" Tommy hums thoughtfully.

"You've already told him your age, right?" Fundy nods. "I don't think telling him mine would be too much of an issue. And no one else needs to know that it was me who signed the papers, yeah?"

Despite himself, Fundy finds his eyes brimming with tears. He wipes at them uselessly, and Tommy brings him into a hug.

"Thanks, Uncle Tommy."

When Eret doesn't show at the agreed time, Grandpa and Uncle Tommy sit with him, Tommy rocking him gently. He knows that as long as Tommy's around, he won't feel alone. He doesn't need to replace his dad when he has his uncle.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Dream never did get that final battle he wanted.

"You think just because you're immortal, you can play god?"

Tommy's early. He's not taken any of the time Dream gave him to prepare. He's just waltzed back into SMP territory for the first time after L'Manberg's destruction, straight up to Dream. Dream'd just been minding his own business, and Tommy had come up to him, apparently looking for a fight. He sounds pissed, too.

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about, Tommy?" Despite the tone of the teen's voice, Dream refuses to back down. This kid thinks he can act all high and mighty just because Dream's died once now? He shouldn't even know about Dream's immortal status!

"I'm not indulging your stupid 'final battle', Dream. I've let you make your power plays. You've hurt a whole lot of people. This is over. I'm not your fucking plaything, I'm not controllable. Whatever you think you have over me, you don't. I could end you in a heartbeat."

Dream laughs at that, but Tommy just raises a brow at him.

"Was that a threat? Coming from you, that doesn't mean anything. I tell you to do something and you do it. You're perfectly controllable. Stop acting out like a child."

Tommy hums, looking entirely unimpressed. "Like a child? Yeah, that's what I've been playing. A child. Which, by the way, weird that you decided to go after the youngest person on the server as far as you knew. Super weird to target me, or Tubbo, or Ranboo.”

And then there's a blade at Dream's neck. A dagger, inlaid with red gems that looked almost to be glowing — redstone? Tommy hadn't moved, but he stands right in front of Dream all the same, fist balled in the immortal's hoodie.

"I don't know who the fuck gifted you your immortality, Dream, but it can be taken away from you any time. One word to The Prime God and ... poof! Gone." Dream can feel the blood leaking lazily from where the blade is pressed. He tries to pull himself from Tommy's grip. It should be easy; the kid's still skinny from exile. There's no way he's built up enough muscle to keep _Dream_ in place.

Dream can't move.

"You act like I don't scare you. But I really should, bitch. Get scared real quick. Start fucking begging. Maybe I won't take a second life."

Dream grabs at Tommy's fingers, trying desperately to pry them away from his hoodie, but they won't budge.

"You'll regret this, Tommy." He threatens. His voice doesn't shake, which he refuses to be proud of. This is _Tommyinnit_. He isn't intimidated. As soon as he gets out of Tommy's grip, Dream's taking his last life. Right here, right now. Forget a final battle, forget keeping the teen alive to play with. He's going to murder him now. Slowly, painfully.

"You're thinking too loud. I'm not gonna regret shit. Did you not hear me? Beg or _die_ , Dream."

"It doesn't matter!" Dream grins, despite the feeling of being trapped slowly building in his gut. "You said it yourself! I'm immortal! No matter how many times you kill me, I'll keep coming back."

"I also said." Tommy leans in, voice low and thrumming with something Dream can't identify. "That can be fixed. Cockroaches like you might be hard to kill, but one look from the good ol'God Prime and it's like they never existed."

Dream realises they’re amassing a small audience; people who were passing by have stopped to watch. It makes him damn angry. The fact that Tommy — _anyone_ on the server, but especially him — can pretend to have any sort of agency. And try to hold it over him. Their _Admin_. The nerve!

Tommy shakes him. He hurls a punch at the teen’s face. It lands, but the boy isn’t even phased.

“Ow,” he says, voice flat. All of a sudden, Dream’s on his back and Tommy’s standing over him. “Come to think of it, begging might actually make me want to kill you more. I don’t want to listen to your voice.” There’s a foot on Dream’s chest, making it hard to breathe. Tommy leans over him, dagger arm held wide. The blade seems to grow longer, but that might just be Dream’s already oxygen addled mind playing tricks on him.

Tommy’s expression is cold. The dagger arcs towards his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Being immortal basically means that you can’t die of old age, and you have infinite lives when on permadeath worlds.  
> > Immortality is usually gifted to someone by a god for various reasons, such as being someone they care about, or doing something for them. Once given, immortality may only be withdrawn by either the god who gave it in the first place, or The Prime God.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally back at Techno’s house after the destruction of L’Manberg, Fundy mentions that should tell Tubbo as well.

"Tubbo's going to be angry when he wakes up too. When you tell him." Fundy stares at the fire dancing in Technoblade's hearth. His tail's wrapped around himself to keep from flicking with anxiety. Tommy sits next to him, hand carding through his hair. It's more comforting that Fundy will admit, even though he's upset with the man right now.

"I'm sure he will be," Phil says from the kitchen, turning off the stove when the kettle starts whistling. "Luckily, I think that's Tommy's problem. I definitely don't know Tubbo well enough to be the one to tell him." Techno, sitting in the armchair next to the couch, grunts in what Fundy assumes is agreement. Tommy's fingers still in his hair briefly, and then he sighs.

"Shit. Yeah, I guess you're right." The blonde pauses for a moment, before asking petulantly, "can't you just bring Wil back? Make him do it?" Which catches Fundy entirely off guard.

"You want me to go through the intense process of reattaching his essence to his body, and then immediately make him tell _your_ friend you've been lying to him?" Grandpa asks, amused.

A beat passes, and then, "yes." Phil snorts.

"Tea, Fundy?"

"Did you say bring Wil back?"

Fundy finally looks up when no one answers him immediately. Tommy and Phil seem to be having a staring match. The fox glances to Technoblade, who just shrugs. Eventually, Uncle Tommy seems to win, and it's Phil who speaks.

"As deities, none of us are actually able to die," he begins, not looking at Fundy. He's pouring water into four mugs, seeming to have decided to make one for Fundy. Leaving them to steep, he walks to the kitchen's doorframe and leans against it. "When you originally came to this server, I made a sorta work around since this place has a permadeath system. Your physical forms would go into a stasis, effectively dead, whilst your essence would stick around until a point when I could reunite them."

Grandpa stops, letting Fundy digest this new information. He recalls the conversation he'd overheard just before leaving for this server, which now makes a lot more sense. He doesn't understand _how_ , though. How Phil's able to manipulate life and death like that. There's a mug pressed into his hands, the warmth bringing him out of his head enough to realise Phil's speaking again. He'd asked his question aloud, apparently.

"I'm ancient, mate. Before I went by Philza, I had another name. Most of my followers called me The Prime God." The words dawn on Fundy slowly. He remembers the scripture Tommy'd recited to him when he'd asked about who Church Prime was for. Stories of the creation of everything, a being who loved his creations equally (Tommy'd laughed about that), a deity who had command over the entirety of existence.

"Your grandpa's not just a god, he's _the_ God," Tommy says with a grin. Phil rolls his eyes.

"I'm not anymore," Phil denies with a chuckle, "I made all of you, after all. Why have one God when you could have a pantheon?"

"Gods was weird enough ... I'm really struggling to reconcile Grandpa Phil with _The Prime God_." Fundy glances around at his family members. They're laughing. At him. Even Techno's got an amused smirk on his face. He huffs, flicking his fluffed tail derisively, and Tommy waves the hand not on Fundy's head at the sound.

"Sorry, sorry," he says with a grin that is decidedly not 'sorry'. Fundy gives him an unimpressed look.

He finds himself leaning into his uncle's shoulder nonetheless, taking a sip from the mug now in his hands. The fire in the fireplace crackles.

"There's not enough sugar in this," Tommy comments flippantly. Phil apologises. Fundy thinks about his dad. Who would Phil bring back? The man who raised him? Or the being fuelled by spite and paranoia who had replaced him.

"So _are_ you gonna try to bring Dad back? Are you done playing mortal? Or will you just hope that Niki doesn't tell anyone anything she heard earlier?" He's _really_ not sure if he wants them to bring him back.

"Ah," says Phil. "Well. I'll be honest, I've been a bit hesitant to go and ... and dig up his body."

"It'll happen though," Tommy tells him confidently. "And as long as I'm far away, he should come back himself, too!"

Techno groans at that. "For the last time, Tommy, stop blaming yourself."

Tommy opens his mouth to protest, and then closes it again with a frown. Fundy pats his uncle on the arm with a sigh. They've all agreed to argue less. And work on the issues they've ignored for however long. _Together_.

It'd been just after they'd arrived, while Phil had been lying Tubbo down upstairs. Uncle Tommy was still quiet, and Fundy had curled himself up in the blonde's lap like he did when he was a kid. It was a bit awkward now that Fundy was almost Tommy's height, but it seemed to comfort the older anyway. Techno was hovering awkwardly in his own home, not taking a seat yet.

Fundy had asked if Tommy was feeling okay, and received a noncommittal hum in response. The arms around him'd tightened a little.

"From an outside perspective," Fundy had said. "You've all had Millenia to work out how to deal with your problems together, and _peacefully_. And you haven't."

"You're not an outside perspective," Techno replied. "And you're biased towards Tommy."

Fundy had sighed and levelled him an unimpressed look. Techno had intimidated him a lot since his first reintroduction to the man on this server. Oddly enough, despite just discovering that Techno — along with the rest of his family — was a _god_ , the pig now seemed more like an argumentative child than an intimidating figure.

"He's right, Tech." Grandpa was making his way back downstairs. "We've not been very good at that as of recent." He stopped to guide his middle son into an armchair and then bustled into the kitchen.

"What do you want, then?" Techno grouched, and Fundy sighed.

“Talk,” he’d said. “Just, like ... talk to each other.”

And they had. And they’d agreed to keep doing it.

“Be nice, Techno,” says Phil. “It’s a centuries old issue. It’s not just going to go away.”

Techno grunts, looking slightly apologetic (Fundy _thinks_ , anyway). Grandpa pushes away from the doorframe he’s leaning against, walking over to stand in front of the pair on the sofa.

“Toms, you know that even your powers acting up couldn’t affect something I’m doing. But you don’t hafta come, okay? He probably won’t even be awake until after we bring him back here.”

Tommy looks conflicted, but he nods once, leaning into his father’s hand when it comes up to cup his cheek for a moment.

The older blond steps back. “Well, in that case, I suppose I should start getting the materials I’ll need together.” He ruffles Tommy’s hair with a grin. “Don’t think you’re getting out of telling Tubbo, though, mate. That’s still your job. He should be up by midday tomorrow, and he’s gonna have a lot of questions.”

Tommy lets out a long groan at the reminder, turning to give Fundy a desperate look. The fox grins at his uncle, shrugging. He’s gonna have to fend for himself on this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Editing my work at 2am like nothing can go wrong with that. Nah. This can only go well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The formation of a pantheon. (And a family.)

The Prime God doesn't play favourites, he'll swear that up and down. He loves all of his creations, and he loves no deity more than another. Ignores the fact that he still holds a soft spot for the not-quite-right original Endermen, the fact that he prefers the company of birds to any other creature. The fact that he calls Technoblade, Wilbur, and Tommy his sons. And these _are_ facts, but Philza will not admit that they mean he plays favourites.

Darkness was one of the first godly beings he'd given shape to. It had become a small puddle of swirling void, which then shifted into a dark, horned figure. It blinked white, glowing eyes at Philza, and then at the dark space surrounding them.

"You are Darkness," The Prime God had told it. "I created this place for your comfort, but you are able to walk in light should you desire. As long as you keep your form sheltered from it."

The void where Darkness had decided its head would be shifted in an approximation of a nod. Philza offered it a smile, and it attempted to return it. More glowing white came to the surface, stretched across its face like a slash of light. It would improve with time.

Darkness stuck around for longer than the others before it. It became Bad, a small, hooded shadow who trailed the Prime God wherever he went. Bad seemed especially fascinated by the process of creation. He watched, rapt, when Philza formed new deities, and as they chose what forms they would take.

And then, one day, Philza awoke to find that Bad was no longer the small figure he had been. He was about Philza's own height, now. His horns stood much taller as well, the only part of his form he dared let peek out from under the cover of his clothes. He offered Philza a smile, much improved now from his first attempt.

"I'm ready to spread my wings, Philza," he'd said, earning a chuckle from the older god. They'd had breakfast — an indulgence, not a necessity. Then Bad had been off. Philza had watched him for a while after that. One of the first things he'd done was create someone of his own. Philza had expected it. To this day, he thinks he must've accidentally given Bad some of his own desire to create along with Darkness. The boy made of diamonds had been a bit more clunky than Philza's creations, and Bad had admitted that his immortality was an accident, but he functioned and enjoyed life. Philza had felt proud of his former companion.

He'd continued forming deities after that. Sea, Sky, Animals ... none had any interest in pacing their learning of the world they'd been brought into as Bad had. Philza never considered Bad as anything more than a close companion, but he found himself missing that companionship.

And so, he'd created Music. It hadn't been a conscious decision to create a child, but the small boy with curly, brown hair had formed anyway. He'd been far less clued in about the world than Philza usually intended for his godly creations to be. He'd not chosen his appearance, according to him. He'd called Philza 'Dad'.

Philza became Dadza. Music became Wilbur. Unlike Bad, Wilbur grew steadily. Much slower than mortals did, but certainly not whenever he chose like Bad had. When there was tugging on his being, a request for his presence, a prayer to The Prime God that now reached his son instead, Philza showed the young god how to fill the role he was created for. He kept accompanying his son when he was summoned, until Wilbur called him a helicopter. (And for some time after, although he wasn't visible to anyone.)

War had been shaped in Wilbur's presence, and seemed to decide his appearance would do. The slight red tint to his skin and eyes was the only thing separating him from his older brother. Wilbur loved it, calling them twins despite their difference in age.

When Philza took his youngest to the Nether for the first time, he really wasn't expecting the kid's attachment to Piglins. He also didn't expect the addition of Piglin traits to the young god. The pink hair, in particular, made Wilbur cry. He was upset his brother didn't want to be twins anymore.

Philza was pretty sure mortal parents didn't have to worry about this sort of thing.

It wasn't long after the pink hair that War became Technoblade. This was also around when he started answering summons alone.

Chaos hadn't been an accident. With clear intentions set, Philza shaped Chaos to be his final child. They'd formed with short, silver hair and an attitude. Philza had expected that to be that. It wasn't. Chaos cycled through appearances every other week, never seeming to settle on one. Their form would shift at random, whilst the family was eating, or during a sparring session. Philza was certain they did it to mess with their family sometimes.

The shoulder-length, pink hair they woke up with the day they began following Techno to war stuck around for a month. And then one morning, he was a golden haired teen boy. He was Tommy.

He stayed a golden haired teen boy, too. He claimed that all Tricksters should be youthful. He wasn't entirely wrong; all of the other Trickster gods and spirits indeedtook on youthful appearances. His older brothers teased him for it regardless.

He'd once commented on Philza’s wings being cool, and then decided he'd have a pair too. Philza always wondered if it was his intention to look more like his father than his older siblings did. It didn’t matter, really. He got to teach his son how to fly.

He wasn’t sure what he expected when he began raising children, but the amount of warmth that filled him every time he thought about his sons was a shock. It was different from just shaping beings and watching them grow from a distance. It was different, even, from the small shadow who used to watch him work.

“But they’re not your favourites?” asks Bad, with a skeptical smile. Phil frowns at the implication.

“I told you, I don’t have favourites.”

“Skeppy’s _my_ favourite,” Bad says happily. “Maybe that’s mean to the other things I’ve made, but it’s the truth. He’s special to me. So I think you’re being dishonest.” He glances back at Phil, laughing at the sour expression on his old mentor’s face.

The younger god sighs after a short silence, giving Phil a soft smile. “You can’t spend that much time watching someone grow ... knowing you’re the reason they’re there. Feeling that warmth every time they smile, even when it’s not at you. And not feel differently about them than you do others. That’s why I know they’re your favourites, even if you won’t admit it.”

“You’re not even talking about Skeppy now, mate,” Phil responds with a huff. Bad shrugs, smiling.

“Not going to deny it again?” Phil sighs at the younger’s prodding, chuckling.

“We should chat more often,” he says instead of answering. “We’re on the same server now, after all.”

“Aw, have you missed me?” The shadow accepts the change of topic easily, nudging the older god with a grin and earning a laugh.

“Sure, Bad. It _has_ been a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayo I think my Bad favouritism is showing!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy does a bit of explaining, and Ranboo gets offered help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked me to do a continuation of the second part, so that’s what this is. Tommy had just taken Dream’s second life.   
> I’m not sure if this is exactly what they wanted, but this felt like the logical conclusion.

Tommy runs his dagger along Dream's jumper, cleaning the weapon and leaving a trail of blood along with a shallow slash. "I dedicate this sacrifice to The Blood God, Technoblade," he intones, a grim smile on his face as he stands.

The crowd watches as Dream's body fades in preparation for respawn. Communicator pings go ignored, and people try to find their voices. The expression on Tommy's face when he turns to look at them isn't one they've seen before. There's something in his eyes that seems ancient. It takes a moment for many in the crowd to register the faint red glow from blue irises.

Niki recognises the expression. She'd seen it on L'Manberg's final day. She wonders if she should message Fundy.

“Sorry about that,” Tommy says. “Score to settle.”

“Did ya have to do it in the middle of the Prime Path? We got places to go, man,” Quackity says. He’s going for joking, but his voice comes out strained. Niki winces at the attempt at humour. Tommy doesn’t laugh, which is so out of character. His response is too.

“Yes. He was on the Prime Path when I got here.” He examines the group carefully, before seeming to relax, tense anger sinking out of him as his shoulders drop. The dagger in his hand disappears into his inventory and he shoves his hands into the pockets of his shorts. He finally puts on a more characteristic smile. “So, uh ... you guys miss me?”

There’s a drawn out silence, and then people start talking. Layered questions that Niki can’t understand. She’s pretty sure a Quackity’s speaking Spanish. A look of consternation crosses Tommy’s face as he glances between those in the crowd.

“Uh ... uh ... you guys are gonna have to talk one at a time.” Then he sends Niki a questioning glance, and she has no idea what he wants to know her. He seems to realise, and asks, “how much do you all know?”

“Just what I told them,” Niki offers. She feels almost afraid to speak. After Tommy’s display, she’s worried about what he’ll do if he decides she told them too much. She forges ahead anyway. “You’re not human ... o-or not mortal. You, and Wilbur, Techno, Phil. And about the red eyes and the markings on your face. I tried to tell them everything you were yelling about, b-but I think I didn’t have a lot of context for what was going on.”

Tommy nods thoughtfully. “‘Ello everyone, I’m the God of Chaos. ‘N stuff.” Once again throwing the group into ... well, chaos. He grins. The lacklustre reveal makes Niki think of Wilbur. He’d make it a whole Thing. A long speech featuring all of his greatest godly hits.

“Why’d you kill Dream just now?” someone asks, loud enough to be heard over the din but not enough for her to locate who spoke. Tommy blinks, looking put out.

“Because he’s a dickhead?” He glances over at the patch of blood on the ground, frowning. “He’s been fucking with everyone on the server for fun. He’s been using powers he got from who fucking knows where to screw with Ranboo’s brain when he sleeps. Shit he did to me in exile woulda pushed a mortal to suicide. He just destroyed my old house as a — a fucking message or something. And left a note to have some stupid final confrontation with him in a week. _Fuck_ players with god complexes. I’m done entertaining his shit.”

“But you’re better, cause what? You’re an actual god?” Jack asks from the edge of the crowd.

“I’m not better — well, I am better than Dream, but that’s not hard. I’m the literal embodiment of chaos. Of course I’m fucking flawed. Phil was like, ‘what should my last kid be? Oh, I know! I’ll make ‘em outta chaos and just nothing else! That can only go well!’”

Jack looks like he wants to continue pushing, but Quackity speaks again instead. “Where have you been? Where’re Tubbo and Fundy? Are they good?”

“They’re fine, Big Q,”Tommy says with a smile. “Tubbo’s all healed up and Fundy’s having an existential crisis. We’re over in the tundra doing some family bonding shit.”

“ _Family bonding_?” An incredulous question from Sapnap. If she hadn’t seen their confrontation in the remains of L’Manberg, she’d be disbelieving of _gods_ needing some time spent talking out their issues in a civilised manner as well.

“Fundy says we’re ‘bad at communicating’, and ‘in need of some serious counselling’.” He butchers Fundy’s voice, eliciting a laugh from some of the gathered people. Niki finds herself giggling quietly too. Now that it’s clear Tommy seems to be acting more like himself, she’s feeling a little less anxious.

The sound of a notification from Tommy’s communicator interrupts any further questions, and he looks down, skimming the message.

“Looks like it’s time to go!” he says enthusiastically. “Let me know if you need me to kill Dream again.”

Tommy stops next to Ranboo, who’s been trying to be as invisible as possible during this whole thing, a conflicted look on his face. "You've been staying in my old house, right?" he asks after a moment. Ranboo blinks, eyes widening. He'd expected a confrontation about it whenever the other teen finally returned to SMP territory. Ghostbur, the one to encourage him to stay there in the first place, had told him Tommy would be fine with the intrusion; they were friends. Conscious or not, though, Ranboo's pretty sure he's done quite a few things to hurt the blond. He's probably not a very good friend. And after _that_ display, and the revelation, Tommy is suddenly a lot more terrifying. Even if he’d been killing Dream, which brought Ranboo a brief but welcome feeling of freedom.

"Y-yes," he manages to push out, trying to make himself smaller. It's not very effective.

"Hey, no, it's fine," Tommy assures him, awkwardly patting his arm. He seems to notice the blood on his hand, and quickly withdraws it looking embarrassed. "But it's not really gonna be much of a place to stay now, right?"

"That's fine ... I was just gonna go back to the cave I stayed in the first night after L'Manberg was destroyed." He tries to leave, then, but Tommy shakes his head and grabs the Enderman's wrist (with his unbloodied hand, thankfully).

"Come stay in the Antarctic Empire, Ranboo."

“What?” Ranboo isn’t sure he’s heard correctly. Why would Tommy invite _him_ into what sounds like a space just for his family. Tommy lets go of his wrist and places it on his shoulder instead.

“You need a place to stay, Boo. ‘N like I said, Dream’s been proper fucking with your head. It’s not something you can just ignore. Phil should be able to help you though.” The god smiles at him, squeezing his shoulder. “Come hang around the Empire until your brain’s a bit nicer of a place to be, yeah?”

The offer still feels a bit too large for Ranboo to comprehend. Without the dumb nicknames, and the loud personality, Ranboo feels like he’s talking to a different person. The Tommy in front of him is quiet, and considerate. And he wants to help. He wants Ranboo to have help. Ranboo feels overwhelming grateful. Ranboo wants the voice in his head that smiles, and hates, and sounds like Dream _gone_. He wants to sleep and know his body will remain his own. He wants the feeling of family that he’s not even certain Tommy is offering.

“Oh,” Ranboo says. “Yeah. Okay.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The not so mystery of Dream’s immortality.

"Was it you?" Tommy asks, getting Techno's attention. Fundy looks up as well, glancing over at Techno. The pig looks at Tommy, nonplussed. "Dream's immortality — was that you?" He clarifies.

"No ...?" Technoblade asks, confused. "We weren't _that_ close. I wouldn't give anyone immortality anyway. He already had it by the time I met him."

"Huh." Tommy gives the wall a considering look.

"It was probably Darkness. Bad," Phil says, looking up from his book. "They're friends, and he has a bad habit of giving it away to people he cares about by accident."

"You can just _do_ that? Give people immortality by accident?" Tubbo asks, frowning.

" _I_ can't. But Bad's found a way." Phil huffs, and it's halfway between tired and affectionate. "Came to me panicking one time because he was scared the eight year old he'd accidentally made immortal wouldn't age."

"Did they?" Tubbo's entirely distracted from whatever he'd been fiddling with. Like Fundy, this information is all new and surprising to him. He wants to learn as much about their world as they'll let him.

Phil chuckles. "Of course. You know 'im, actually. Sapnap."

"Sapnap," Fundy repeats. " _Huh_."

"It'd explain the weird dream powers the green bitch has," Tommy muses.

"Why? Didn't Phil say Bad was Darkness? Doesn't that mean he's the god of it?" Ranboo asks.

"What weird dream powers?" Tubbo asks at the same time, leaning forward. Ranboo frowns, shrinking a little uncomfortably.

"Mhm, darkness, the night, dreams. Many of my gods don't exist in only one domain." Phil slides his book onto the coffee table he's sitting in front of, straightening a bit. His wings fold more closely into his back, and Fundy recognises explanation-mode. "When a mortal is gifted the immortal status by a god, it usually comes with the added 'bonus' of a proficiency in a weaker form of something in that god's skillset."

"In Dream's case, he has the ability to enter other people's dreams," Techno follows up, frowning as if in thought. "Although that's not all it is anymore, huh? Tommy said he's been able to manipulate other's bodies while they're asleep? He wasn't able to do that when I met him."

"It could be that, through access to other's dreams, he's found a way to gain access to the rest of their mind while they're vacant," Phil speculates.

"It's just Ranboob, though," Tommy says. "How would you explain that?"

Fundy watches Ranboo curl up more in preparation for all eyes in the room to be on him, but it's only brief before everyone's looking back at Phil.

"That may be somewhat my fault," Phil admits reluctantly. "The Enderman part of Ranboo seems to resemble the beta version of Endermen. There was a couple of issues with them that I had to iron out before I tried again — it was my first attempt at higher sentience so it was a bit mucky. I still liked them though, so I didn't get rid of them, just sent them further out."

"Get to the point, old man," Tommy interrupts, exasperated. Judging by Techno's amused snort, there's some inside joke or other that Fundy isn't getting.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. The point is, that one of the issues I found was that almost every one of them had the same bug affecting their brains. They'd struggle with teleportation and hurt themselves, they'd dissociate for long periods of time, they'd get aggressive with each other because they struggled to recognise familiar faces, let alone strangers of their own species. They ... had a lot of issues with their memories." He sounds genuinely guilty, his voice softening at the last sentence. "I'd say that bug would also make it a lot easier for an unwanted brainwave to worm its way in. Dream's taking advantage of a bug."

Ranboo's quiet for a moment, digesting. "My ... my own mind is really against me, huh?" He lets out a short laugh, but it sounds more like a sob. Tommy and Tubbo move at the same time, closing the distance between themselves and the young Enderman and wrapping him up in a hug.

"I told you, Dadza will help, okay Ranboo? He can get the green bastard out of your head." Tommy sounds a little panicked as well. He was never the best at comforting Fundy when he was upset, and it's been a while since he's had to. Fundy guesses he's out of practice.

"Really?" Ranboo's watery eyes return to Phil, and the man nods.

"Bad would probably be a better person to ask nowadays, but since he's ... indisposed, I’m sure I can figure it out."

"'I can probably do it.' Comforting words, Grandpa," Fundy says.

"I haven't touched dreams in a _very_ long time," Phil defends, chuckling. "I'm sure it's like riding a bike, though."

"You can't ride a bike," Tommy points out helpfully.

"Yes, thank you Tommy," Phil says with an exasperated sigh. He gives Ranboo a careful look, frowning at whatever he sees. "I'll pick it back up in no time. And we can start with getting you a good night's sleep, Ranboo. You look like you really need it."

"Food first," Techno says, heaving himself to his feet. Fundy glances at the clock on the wall and realises it is actually around dinner time. It's always easy to lose track of time out here once it starts getting dark, because it happens so early.

They have a large dinner, courtesy of Techno always making too much. Ranboo’s only been with them for a week, but Fundy’s noticed that he always seems most uncomfortable at dinner. Phil tells him that it’s because it’s ‘family dinner’ and Ranboo doesn’t think he’s family. Even so, tonight he seems to be smiling more, even laughing quietly when Tommy slams his fist down on the table and almost flips his bowl. There’s something new in Ranboo’s eyes. Fundy thinks it might be hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote all Phil’s explaining while I was half asleep and now I can’t tell if it makes sense haha.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gift of immortality often comes with a consequence — be it blessing, or curse, or neither. It's just a pity the god gifting it doesn't get more of a say in what it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s no SBI in this one, sorry!
> 
> CW for derealisation (I think??) in George’s section, and canon-typical child manipulation from Dream :)

_Skeppy_

Skeppy knows what he is. He's always known what he is. His first memory is an excited, horned man asking him how he feels and if everything’s working right.

He wasn't meant to be immortal, when Bad created him. Bad has told him that, looking guilty. Skeppy's still not sure if he's guilty about intending for his lifespan to be far shorter, or sorry that he'd forced immortality upon him. It doesn't matter, though. Bad had also explained immortality to him. Told him of the extra gift that came with it. Apologising, as he often did.

They weren't sure what Skeppy's gift _was_ , though. Not for a while. Not until Bad tried to create something else. Tried, and finally understood what exactly he was making things out of. The dog he created is immortal too. Bad's creations are formed from dreams. Unlike the Prime God, Bad has no direct control over matter, so he first must form his creations from thought. Skeppy and Rat's gifts are their very existence. Bad’s managed to rein it in, now. He can create stuff that won’t be gifted with eternal form.

Bad seems thankful that he hasn't lumped Skeppy with some intense hardship, despite being worried that he’ll start to hate him with time. Hate the long existence forced upon him. Skeppy thinks Bad would be lonely without him.

_Sapnap_

Sapnap's known Bad for a long time. Not as long as Skeppy, but far longer than Dream or George. It's been awhile since a fiery six year old met a shadow man. He remembers being afraid of the dark way back then. Curled up in the blocked off corner of some cave or another, shaking and trying to fall asleep to the growls and gurgles of mobs from beyond his walls.

Late one night, Sapnap had been too slow to return to his cave. He'd run, tailed by the screeching of his worst night terrors. He had nothing in his inventory. Nothing to block himself in with.

A shadowy figure had melted into existence before him, and he'd slammed into it, unable to stop in time. The being had told him he was safe as all the sound around him seemed to stop, the horrifying screeching thankfully muted.

He hadn't known what Bad was then. He doesn't know for sure now. He knows he hasn't been afraid of the dark for a long time. When he was a child, finally given a home, Bad would keep him company until he could fall asleep. When Bad was around, the darkness began to feel comforting. Like it was stroking his hair and telling him he was safe along with his new guardian.

Sapnap began finding solace in the darkness. When things got too overwhelming, he'd flee to the closet in his bedroom until Bad or Skeppy came to find him.

One day, Skeppy came looking for him, and couldn't find him. He'd frowned, staring around the closet, eyes drifting across Sapnap as if he wasn't there. The confused man went to tell Bad, who easily picked Sapnap out against the blurred blackness within the small space. From then on, it was usually Bad who came to get him.

Bad started teaching him how to fade into the darkness at will. He couldn't do a lot of the things that Bad could do, he wasn’t made of darkness. Bad explained that his new abilities would keep everything and everyone from seeing him. And Seeing him (not that Sapnap knew what that meant — he'd just repeated the same word twice).

The darkness offers him protection and safety like it had when Bad first took him in. Keeping prying eyes off him when he needs to escape, or simply wants to be alone. Sometimes at night, he still sinks into its embrace, and imagines Bad keeping the monsters at bay.

_George_

George doesn't remember having particularly vivid dreams when he was younger. He can't pinpoint when that changed. When remembering his dreams stopped being a rare occurrence and started being daily. When he started dreaming even during his waking hours. Somehow sleeping has become less confusing than walking the world awake. He can watch the going's on of the SMP, safe in the knowledge that he doesn't have to participate. Or he can wander into some strange world his mind creates for him.

Being awake is a different matter. He has to face people then. Watch, as they shift and change. As his friends' faces mutate into unrecognisable forms. Places he remembers loving become ominous, dangerous. The sunlight burns his eyes behind shaded glasses, and he just wants to go back to sleep where everything makes sense.

"You seem anxious," says the swirling mass of eyes and blood that is Dream.

"Yeah, are you alright George?" asks the burning heap of gore that sounds like Sapnap.

George wants to cry, or run. But they won't understand why he's afraid. They're his friends, even if they don't look like it. He can't afford to push them away any more than his constant oversleeping already does. He tells them he's just tired. They joke about his packed sleep schedule. He laughs along with them, but it sounds more like a sob to his ears.

He wonders if they can hear it too, or if it's just one more thing that his brain's lying to him about.

Bad's the only person who doesn't look wrong when he's awake. But he always seems sad when he looks at George. He apologises once, vaguely. George isn't sure what for. His friend tells him that he seems like he's struggling to stay awake nowadays, and he feels sorry. This can't be a real conversation, George thinks, because why would Bad blame himself for something like this?

The worst part is, George isn't sure he misses the real world. When he's awake, and when he watches the server in his dreams, it's never a very happy place. There's another war raging, or there's another president suffering, or his closest friend is taking back the crown he gave him. It was never about the crown to him. It was Dream placing his trust in George to look after his server. Trust which he revoked.

Watching Dream afterwards. As he manipulates the people around him, and uses his power to walk around the body of a teenager like a marionette. George isn't sure if it was ever about trust for his friend. Maybe he just thought George would be easier for him to control. He'd often made decisions _for_ George because he was asleep, anyway.

Dream hasn’t been able to enter his dreams without permission for a long time. It means that sleep doubles as a way to pretend that their friendship isn't frayed and fractured by what Dream has become.

Dreams make sense. They're comfortable and familiar, and when they're strange it's never in a bad way. They're an escape, and George spends more time escaping than he does living, but that's okay.

_Dream_

Dream had gotten a book about dreams from his sister once. They were both young then, and he's not sure where the book is now. But he remembers reading it to her as she drifted off to sleep, and then until his own eyes drifted shut against his will.

Whenever one of them remembered their dreams, they'd both curl up around the book and try to figure out what it meant. He's not sure how accurate the thing was, but sometimes misses the excitement of those mornings. Trying to analyse dreams made him feel like he had some new insight into a person.

The first few times he entered the dreams of others he'd not known anything was different. Sure, he was dreaming about other people more often, but that wasn't too strange. Then Sapnap mentioned a nightmare he'd had, and it sounded far too similar to his own dream. He started asking whenever he saw one of his friends in his dreams.

Sometimes he’d tease them about what he saw. Point out the way Sapnap had hidden behind an imitation of Bad when something scary happened, or how George had been a king in his dream, and all too happy to order around the rest of them. He never saw Bad’s dreams, but that didn’t seem odd at the time. He wasn’t even sure Bad slept.

As it turned out, his knowledge of the dreams of others could be helpful. He wouldn’t blackmail his friends, of course, but they weren’t the only dreams he could see. When they began taking bounties — for information, or to capture, to kill, whatever — his ability started being very useful. He’d discover a target’s secret lover, or a child, or a fear to exploit. Anything, it would all come in handy. People began to whisper that he was somehow inhuman; that he knew everything. He let them. He didn’t need to worry about them taking precautions when it came to him, because nothing they did could stop him. He knew that. The only person to ever beat him in a fight was Technoblade, known all around to be unbeatable. (He’d been in Technoblade’s dreams once. It was a bit much even for him. He chose to stay well away after that.)

On the SMP, his abilities only proved to keep being important. When wars broke out, he could find out what it would take to break people. He could learn what it would take to bring Eret to his side, or how important Tommy’s discs were to him. He knew when Wilbur changed, although he could never figure out why. Regardless, it was a simple matter to figure out how to exacerbate the issue.

And then, Ranboo came to the server. And Ranboo’s brain was a mess. Nothing connected right, and his dreams were terrifying but he never seemed to remember them. He never seemed to remember much. Not without that book of his. His dreams were difficult to interpret, or even to understand. He didn’t think he’d learn anything important from them.

Until he went looking.

The connections in the boy’s brain were all wrong, and they took him interesting places. When his mind was busy dreaming, he could quietly wedge his way in. Make a little space for himself and keep tabs. Talk to him sometimes, and watch him spiral.

He discovered he could move around with it, too. Steal Ranboo’s body while he slept and take it wherever he liked, make it do what he wanted. At first he just wandered around with it, to see the boy’s reaction. But then Tommy got exiled, and he started finding other things to do with Ranboo. If he managed to get Tommy’s discs, he’d have all the power on the server. He named this place after himself for a reason, and he’d be damned if some rowdy kid managed to wrestle it from him.

Dreams tell him things. Mostly about people. Secrets that he can use against them, or desires that he can play into. Sometimes, they provide him a back door into a teenager's screwed up head. Dreams are power and knowledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For clarification, the ability that goes along with immortality can’t be selected by the god, however it tends to be something that the god thinks that person wants it needs. Although not always in the healthiest way. (E.g. Bad thought baby Sapnap needed protection when he wasn’t there, so the power ended up being something that would protect him.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! I keep saying ‘okay this is the last thing I have planned for this AU’ and then go and write something else. So from now on, I’m just gonna put anything I finish here. So hoped you liked this short one to begin!
> 
> Might even take some suggestions, if anyone has one that inspires me enough! :D


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